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Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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Hello everyone, I need some input from you guys on my situation Ė as of now, Iím pretty sure Iíve contracted the virus because I made a stupid mistake, but I wonít know for a few weeks yet, as I want to get tested after ample time has passed. Iíve read a bunch of threads waiting for my account to be approved, and while I have a feeling I know what you all may say, please hear me out. The following is what happened to me:

Monday, 02/08 (two weeks ago) I met up with a guy at night, and wound up giving him very slight oral Ė I licked up and down the shaft a few times, and slurped/sucked on the head twice. Iím positive I tasted pre-cum, as I got that familiar taste on my tongue/throat.

Prior to me sucking, he was using his spit as lube on himself, jerking off. I also made it a point to spit on it a bit before I had touched it with my mouth.

Now, I took a tissue after this, wiped my tongue (far back) several times, and also spit out of the car a bunch. I was paranoid and worried, and for good reason. Please, no one insult me for this part, Iím aware of the stupidity of my actions, but I was having a lot of stress lately, I was being stupid, and I assumed oral had minimal risk Ė I actually hadnít even planned to perform oral but once there I got caught up in the moment and did a bit, then stoppedÖ

He is HIV+, and has been for roughly 3 years, heís not on meds, he doesnít want to take them. Iím assuming this means quite a high viral load.

Now, on to WHY I actually think I have it, so you guys tell me:

The next day, I had a constant feeling of a hair caught in my throat, it tickled. This was frustrating, but not indicative of anything. I also had an odd taste in my throat in general.

By Saturday morning of that week (02/13) I was driving home at about 7:30 AM. The night prior, I was out for a walk in the snow (2í of it, or so, I enjoy it, donít ask) Ė I was dressed plenty warm, but wound up dropping my keys and searching for them for 3-4 hours before I finally got them when it got light out. Now, I rarely EVER get sick, Iím very healthy in how I eat and exercise, etc. Driving home after the ordeal of finding my keys, I felt short of breath, and my throat hurt, my glands felt swollen.

The following Tuesday (02/16) I felt short of breath again (I hadnít since Saturday AM), and went to my doctor that afternoon. He said my throat looked very red, and my glands were swollen. He also saw bit of whitish spots on my tonsils. He performed a throat culture, as well as blood test, as he wanted to check for mono. This scared me, as I know mono is commonly mistaken for acute HIV infection. I also had no fever at all, he checked for that.

Bear with me, I know this is getting long-winded, and I apologize.

After that visit, my throat burned up until last night or so (02/21) Ė less each day mostly, but it still felt hot when I breathed at times Ė it was less in the mornings. I drank a lot of fluid constantly, and I donít smoke. It didnít hurt to swallow or talk, so I knew this wasnít strep, Iíve had that 14 times as a child, I knew what it was like.

My doctor called back with the results on Monday (02/22) Ė culture negative, which means itís not a bacterial thing. That means it is viral. He also said that my blood sugar was a little low, so Iím not sure if that adds to anything here (I had eaten that day too, so it wasnít fasting).

My only hope is that I got something five nights after the incident from being stuck out in the cold, and most resources I read say symptoms appear within 2 weeks, and also most people Iíve talked to all report fever, nausea, diarrhea, night sweats, and other symptoms in some mixture, as well as the throat issueÖ I ONLY had a throat issue this entire time.

Iím freaked out, Iím sick to my stomach with worry literally Ė Sunday and Monday morning this week I was nauseous, as well as Sunday night. My throat is still a little off feeling, but mainly better, and I have a slight tickle in it or my chest.

Iím going to test in a few weeks more to be sure, but until then, can someone here tell me their opinion on what they think? Are those symptoms likely indicative of anything? Can I have gotten them so quickly, about 5 days after? Did my possible exposure to the cold for so long hasten the onset of the acute infection symptoms? Iím losing my mind, Iím depressed, Iím worried, and I think I have good reason to be. I feel all hope is lost, but Iím trying to keep level-headed.

You licked some guy's shaft and sucked his knob a couple of times. He didn't ejaculate and that's where it ended.

There is a theoretical risk of transmission in performing unprotected oral sex on man who has HIV infection, but there has never been a documented case of such transmission happening. If it was to happen, there would have to be a whole lot more involved that what you describe here.

To my mind you were not at risk of HIV infection (yes I know you say he's HIV+) and as such you don't need to be tested as a result of this incident.

Symptoms really mean nothing when it comes to diagnosing HIV and your sore throat bears no resemblance to the those symptoms some people experience during in acute phase of HIV infection.

Sure your sore throat could be cause by a virus, but not a virus such as HIV.

You are worrying about HIV without real cause. I suggest you read our Welcome Thread and follow the links to our lessons on HIV transmission.

Really? Even if he had a high viral load, you don't honestly think that caused an issue? I know the odds are low with precum and oral contact, but I can't help but be terrified - I'm concerned I may have thrown away my chance to ever have a family, a child of my own, which I've always wanted, because of a stupid decision - I've made mistakes before, but this makes me feel lower than low.

Also, my sore throat and swollen glands don't resemble symptoms? Do you mean because I ONLY have those, and nothing else?

You licked some guy's shaft and sucked his knob a couple of times. He didn't ejaculate and that's where it ended.

There is a theoretical risk of transmission in performing unprotected oral sex on man who has HIV infection, but there has never been a documented case of such transmission happening. If it was to happen, there would have to be a whole lot more involved that what you describe here.

To my mind you were not at risk of HIV infection (yes I know you say he's HIV+) and as such you don't need to be tested as a result of this incident.

Symptoms really mean nothing when it comes to diagnosing HIV and your sore throat bears no resemblance to the those symptoms some people experience during in acute phase of HIV infection.

Sure your sore throat could be cause by a virus, but not a virus such as HIV.

You are worrying about HIV without real cause. I suggest you read our Welcome Thread and follow the links to our lessons on HIV transmission.

Really? Even if he had a high viral load, you don't honestly think that caused an issue? I know the odds are low with precum and oral contact, but I can't help but be terrified - I'm concerned I may have thrown away my chance to ever have a family, a child of my own, which I've always wanted, because of a stupid decision - I've made mistakes before, but this makes me feel lower than low.

Also, my sore throat and swollen glands don't resemble symptoms? Do you mean because I ONLY have those, and nothing else?

Yeah, even if he had a high viral load. HIV is fragile and saliva contains more than a dozen proteins and enzymes which inhibit the virus.

What's happening here is that you feel bad because you did something that you think is immoral or unacceptable - ie sucking on some strange bloke's bell-end. As such you feel you need to be punished and you've fixated on HIV as that punishment.

All of which is totally irrational. HIV is not a punishment, it's a virus and it doesn't care what you do.

Now if you want to go and get tested for HIV in 11 weeks time (the HIV window period is 13 weeks) go right ahead. But I'm telling you, you're gonna test negative.

You're displaying your ignorance of hiv when you assume that just because the guy has been poz for three years that he has a huge viral load. I've been poz for thirteen years and I'm not on meds either because... wait for it... my viral load is small.

Regardless, what you did was in no way a risk for hiv infection. Got a sore throat? Big deal, sore throats happen all the time at this time of year and yes, sore throats can be viral. So what? You didn't even give the bloke a proper blowjob. Get over it.

We advise anyone who is sexually active that they should be testing at least once a year. You only need to test if it's been over a year. You certainly do not need to test over this non-incident.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Please note though, I'm not thinking I deserve it, or that I need punishment - I wasn't really beat up over anything besides the fact that I did a dumb thing by KNOWING he was positive, and still going through with it, knowing the risks. Other than that, I'm all for sexual freedom and enjoying ourselves, but my lack of concern for my health and safety is what bothered me.

Also, I do know a sore throat can be viral, it just all seems very suspect that within 5-7 days I get an unusual sore throat that feels like nothing I've ever had before, as well as swollen glands: to clear up that part, matty, you said my symptoms don't resemble acute hiv infection - is that because I've ONLY got the sore throat and swollen glands? Do people normally get multiple, more severe symptoms?

I didn't mean it like that - but as far as I knew, doing what I did WASN'T safe (oral contact with pre-cum), so that's what I'm mad at myself for.

Also, not trying to be a pain, but can you address my question regarding the symptoms? Thanks for the quick replies, matty - I figured at this hour, no one would be around, and I'd have to go to bed again with more panic and dread in my heart, but I'm feeling a bit more relieved now...

Neither symptoms, nor the LACK of symptoms mean a thing when it comes to diagnosing hiv. The ONLY way to accurately know your hiv status is through testing.

That said, you don't need to test over this very brief incident. There have been long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I know that I need to test, but it was still too recent, so I was looking for peace of mind until then, because as of now, I can't focus on anything - work or school.

Also, I know symptoms aren't a great indicator, but I figured getting some extra assurance regarding them could ease my mind a bit more, you know what I mean? I was hoping that, given all of my information, it would be likely I got sick after that night because I was stuck in the snow for hours. Not to mention, if one WAS getting symptoms from an acute HIV infection, they would likely be more than just a sore throat and swollen glands, right? It sounds to me as though a lot of people tend to get VERY run down.

Also, I've read a bunch of posts where those studies are mentioned - can you possibly link me to them? I'd like to read it.

Neither symptoms, nor the LACK of symptoms mean a thing when it comes to diagnosing hiv. The ONLY way to accurately know your hiv status is through testing.

That said, you don't need to test over this very brief incident. There have been long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

I'm still nervous about the entire thing, but I have a bit of an update which, combined with what you guys have said so far, makes me feel a bit more at ease, though I'm not sure if there's reason to.

The guy in question talked to me last night, and informed me that he just met up with this guy he's been regular with for 7 months roughly - supposedly this guy has been taking his loads in his mouth, swallowing and all, blowing to completion, all this time. He just got tested in January, and apparently is clean of all STDs as well as HIV. I don't know whether or not to believe this guy - he knows I've been freaking out about being infected, and I fear he may just be telling me this in an effort to calm me down... His claim has been that he's always upfront and straightforward, and says that his ex 3 years ago WAS poz, but he always topped him, so he PLAYS like he's poz, but doesn't know for sure if he is. He's never been tested, I guess he just doesn't care to...

In June 2002, a study conducted amongst 135 HIV negative Spanish heterosexuals, who were in a sexual relationship with a person who was HIV positive, reported that over 19,000 instances of unprotected oral sex had not led to any cases of HIV transmission.3 The study also looked at contributing factors that could affect the potential transmission of HIV through oral sex.

Just updating again (hope you guys don't care, since I'm keeping it to my thread but I got back from the doctor, all blood work was fine for now (regular blood panel, no STD or HIV tests done yet, since it's been just past 2 weeks) - my glucose was below normal levels, but that's likely got nothing to do with this.

My WBC count was normal - he said it would be either high or low depending on if I had an infection, so I just wanted to ask - in the acute infections of HIV, is WBC count normally altered either up or down by a large margin? Thanks in advance.

I've been positive for over 25 years and my WBC has always been normal. WBC and RBC will not tell you anything about being infected. Since you were never at risk take the time to read the posting guidelines of this forum.

Just updating again (hope you guys don't care, since I'm keeping it to my thread but I got back from the doctor, all blood work was fine for now (regular blood panel, no STD or HIV tests done yet, since it's been just past 2 weeks) - my glucose was below normal levels, but that's likely got nothing to do with this.

My WBC count was normal - he said it would be either high or low depending on if I had an infection, so I just wanted to ask - in the acute infections of HIV, is WBC count normally altered either up or down by a large margin? Thanks in advance.

Hope,

Unless you've got some new risk behaviour to ask us about then it's preferred if you don't update this thread with every trivial piece of medical information about yourself.

This forum is not a place for you to journalise your various health transactions. If you would like to share these things with the world you should consider taking advantage of a free blogging service such as Blogger or Wordpress.

Let me preface this by saying I wasn't sure where to post this, so I put it here. I expect a moderator will move it, should it belong elsewhere.

My question is one of personal curiosity and, I guess, information gathering, so it's not related to an "Am I Infected?" case, or anything of that nature.

I was curious to know, for those of you who have seroconverted, what your symptoms were, when they began, and roughly how long they lasted. That's really all. As I said, it's a matter of personal curiosity, and I don't believe there to be any harm in my inquisition, so hopefully this thread will find its way to where it belongs, and people will participate.

If it's not relevant to YOUR ORIGINAL THREAD then you shouldn't have posted it at all. Especially not in Off Topic which is a forum for dicussing things other than HIV.

To poz members: Please don't indulge this ignorant WW by answering it's seroconversion questions. It really makes what we do in AMI so much harder.

MtD

Excuse me? You have issues with regards to showing some respect. I'm not asking because I'm a "worry well" - and I clearly noted that I wasn't sure where I could post it, so I put it here. It didn't belong in the AM I INFECTED? forum because it's NOT A QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT I'M INFECTED. Moderators can move threads, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I was asking a question out of curiosity, because it interests me. Were I to post it IN MY ORIGINAL THREAD it would get taken as a panic or an attempt to use symptoms as a way of diagnosing the virus, which it's NOT. Ergo, I made a different thread to see that kind of information compiled in a single place, and because it's something I'm curious about. A forum is a place for discussion - exactly what I'm attempting to do.

I know exactly what you're up to. I've seen it a thousand times before.

This thread is just an extension of symptom shopping you've been trying on in AMI. You didn't get the answers you wanted there, so you're trying it on here in Off Topic in the hope that some well meaning HIV positive member will tell you stuff about their seroconversion which you will use to feed the HIV paranoia monster that lives in your head.

What you're doing is called trawling and it's seriously frowned upon around here. I've reported this thread and you should expect a Moderator to kick your ass back to AMI where you belong.

I know exactly what you're up to. I've seen it a thousand times before.

This thread is just an extension of symptom shopping you've been trying on in AMI. You didn't get the answers you wanted there, so you're trying it on here in Off Topic in the hope that some well meaning HIV positive member will tell you stuff about their seroconversion which you will use to feed the HIV paranoia monster that lives in your head.

What you're doing is called trawling and it's seriously frowned upon around here. I've reported this thread and you should expect a Moderator to kick your ass back to AMI where you belong.

MtD

Then you can still say you've seen it a thousand times, 'cause this isn't the thousand-first. I had a feeling that I couldn't even post an honest thread for the sake of curiosity without being accused of doing some "symptom shopping," as you so gracefully put it.

It's too bad I didn't even do that in my thread - I asked my questions, and went on my way. I got tested, despite it being early, since I've seen Ann mention before that people often test positive by the 22-day mark - I'm in the clear so far, and I'm confident I will be by the three month mark as well.

I already explained why I posted this thread; you're making ASSumptions here, and you should know how bad that makes you look. How about next time, not jumping down someone's throat over something just because you're arrogant enough to be sure you're right?

My question still stands, for the original reason I stated - personal curiosity. After running the risk I did, I started reading into HIV/AIDS more because I realized I wanted to be more informed. One thing that piqued my interest was seroconverson, and the varied experiences people have with it - hence, I made a thread hoping to discuss and read more about it.

Then you can still say you've seen it a thousand times, 'cause this isn't the thousand-first. I had a feeling that I couldn't even post an honest thread for the sake of curiosity without being accused of doing some "symptom shopping," as you so gracefully put it.

It's too bad I didn't even do that in my thread - I asked my questions, and went on my way. I got tested, despite it being early, since I've seen Ann mention before that people often test positive by the 22-day mark - I'm in the clear so far, and I'm confident I will be by the three month mark as well.

I already explained why I posted this thread; you're making ASSumptions here, and you should know how bad that makes you look. How about next time, not jumping down someone's throat over something just because you're arrogant enough to be sure you're right?

My question still stands, for the original reason I stated - personal curiosity. After running the risk I did, I started reading into HIV/AIDS more because I realized I wanted to be more informed. One thing that piqued my interest was seroconverson, and the varied experiences people have with it - hence, I made a thread hoping to discuss and read more about it.

The Off Topic forum is for "casual conversations only", HIV related discussions are restricted to the other eleventy-squillion boards on this forum. Since you're a WW the only board you can discuss HIV related things in is . . . AMI!

See how that works? It's quite a deliberate setup. As a WW you're meant to stayed penned up in your little corner of AMI. So you can take your personal curiosities back there or over to thebody.com where you'll find others of your kind.

The Off Topic forum is for "casual conversations only", HIV related discussions are restricted to the other eleventy-squillion boards on this forum. Since you're a WW the only board you can discuss HIV related things in is . . . AMI!

See how that works? It's quite a deliberate setup. As a WW you're meant to stayed penned up in your little corner of AMI. So you can take your personal curiosities back there or over to thebody.com where you'll find others of your kind.

MtD

Too bad it's not up to you, so until a moderator decides to step in, you can fuck off, because you've been nothing but a presumptuous ass this entire time. You're still harping on about how you think you know why I posted the thread, when I succinctly and politely cleared that up for you. Apparently, reading comprehension is something of an issue for you, ain't it Matty?

Too bad it's not up to you, so until a moderator decides to step in, you can fuck off, because you've been nothing but a presumptuous ass this entire time. You're still harping on about how you think you know why I posted the thread, when I succinctly and politely cleared that up for you. Apparently, reading comprehension is something of an issue for you, ain't it Matty?

Too bad it's not up to you, so until a moderator decides to step in, you can fuck off, because you've been nothing but a presumptuous ass this entire time. You're still harping on about how you think you know why I posted the thread, when I succinctly and politely cleared that up for you. Apparently, reading comprehension is something of an issue for you, ain't it Matty?

H4T,

You don't get to speak to a forum member like that when he was only trying to get you to follow our rules. I'm banning you.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts